Starter for automobile engines



H. L. MEEDER.

STARTER FOR AUTOMOBILE ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR.12 19l9.

Patented J unef 6, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1- 7 anwwto'c H. L. MEEDER.

STARTER FOR AUTOMOBILE ENGINES.

APPLTCATION FILED APR. 12, 1919 1,418,449. T 1 Pat-entedJune'e, 1922.

' I 3 EEEE TS-S HEET 2.

I avwewto'c H. L. MEEDER.

STARTER FOR AUTOMOBILE ENG| NES.

APPLICATlON FILED APR-12.1919.

Patehted June 6, 1922.

- ITSHEETS-SHEET 3.

TT-T

ounce STATES rATENT OFF-ICE.

HERBERT L. MEEDEB, OF DENVER, COLQBIAIDO, ASSIGNOB 0F THREE-EIGHTHS TO LEWIS S. HALL AND TWO-EIGHTHS TO JOHN INGLIS, BOTH OF DENVER, COLO- ne no. I

STARTER FOR AUTOMDBILE ENGINES.

lAlfiAdi).

Application filed April 12, 1919.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that l, HERBERT L. MEEDER, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Starters for Automobile Engines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to" the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification,

My invention relates to improvements in starters for internal combustion engines, used in connection with automobiles, my object being to provide a construction of this class which shall be more efheient than those heretofore in use so far as I am aware.

Automobile starters are usually operated by electric motors, and those with which I am familiar and which are most generally in use, involve the movement of a pinion into engagement with a gear connected in operative relation with the engine shaft, the pinion being normally out of mesh with the gear. This movement of the pinion from a position on its shaft out of mesh with the gear connected with the engine shaft, in-

volves a difticulty, since the cogs of the twogears are not always in alignment so that the cogs of the pinion will move promptly into mesh with those of the gear, and when the pinion is interrupted in its movement, the starting function, of course, can not be performed.

My improvement is intended to overcome this difficulty, and it is so constructed that the pinion on the motor shaft is always in mesh with the gear on the engine shaft. The saidgear, however, is normally loose with reference to the engine shaft, but

adapted to be shifted, and is movable into clutching relation with the flywheel of the engine shaft, said operation being accomplished by the same act which closes the circuit of the starting motor, the said clutching relation being established shortly after the closing of the -motor circuit, so'that the clutching gear shall be in rotation before it is interlocked with the flywheel. Hence, in my improved construction, the motor pinion is always in-mesh with the gear to be rotated Specification of Letters Batent.

EPatentedJune t3, 1922.

Serial No. asaevc.

thereby for the performance of the enginestarting function.

Having briefly outlined my improvement. I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof. In this drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view illustrating an automobile engine and showing my improvement ar- -ranged in operative relation therewith.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 2-2, Fig. 1, looking downwardly or in the direction of the arrows, the parts bein shown on a larger scale.

ig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3, Fig. 2, looking toward the right, the parts being shown on a still larger scale. Fig. l is a section taken on the line l4, Fig. 2, looking toward the left, the parts being shown on a larger scale.

Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5, Fig. 4. i

Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 66, Fig. 1, looking toward the'left, the parts being shown on a larger scale, and parts being omitted. v

ig. 7 is a fragmentary .top plan view looking in the direction of arrows 7, 6. The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views.

Let thenumeral 5 designate the internal "combustion engine of an automobile, 7 the crank case, 8 the starting motor, and 9 the dash. The starter pedal, 10, is connected withan arm 12, which passes through an opening 13 in the dash. This arm, as shown in. the drawing, extends downwardly and forwardly from a point 14, its point being tapered to entera bifurcated spring electric contact, 15, which is connected by means of aconductor, 16, with a motor 3, as shown at 17; the other conductor, 13, leading from the motor to one pole 19 of the battery 20 while from the opposite pole, 21, of the battery, a conductor 22 leads to the circuit-closing part, 23, of the'pedal arm l2. This part 23 is normally held out of engagement with till.

fail

the contact 15 by a spiral spring 24, which n a rock shaft 81, which is journalled in bracle ets 32, secured to the crank case as shown at 33. Connected with the rock shaft by means or a set bolt 3a, is a downwardly extending arm, 35, whose lower extremity is connected as shown at 36, with one extremity of a spiral spring 37, the opposite e1:- tremity oi thesaid: spring being connected with the crank case as shown This spring cooperates with the spring to maintain the rock shaft and its connections in a position corresponding with the open circuit position or" the part 23 ot the pedal arm 12.

The rock shaft 31 is further provided with two downwardly extending arms 39, which are adj nstably connected with theroclr shaft by set boltsdO passing through sleeves ll, with which the arms 39 are provided. The lower extremities of these arms are connected as shown ll with trunnions 2 formed on a ring l3, which, shown in the drawing, is composed out two parts connected by bolts 14. This ing engages ball ing construction 45, located in circuits terential groove 46, formed in sleeve 4L7, slidable on a 'stubshai't with which the crank case is provided. The sleeve It! is formed integral with the web 428 of a gear it) normally meshing with pinion 50, fast on the shat't 51 of the starting motor. Fun thermore, the gear i9 is provided with an interior beveled friction face, 52, which is normally out of engagement with an op posing taco, 53, fornied on the flywheel 54. of they engine cranlr shaft 55. The two springs 24 and 37 normallygserve to main-- tain the two friction faces 52 and 53 of the gear and flywheel respectively out of contact, and corresponding withthe' open circuit position'oi the part 23 ot the pedal arm, as will be readily understood.

From the foregoing descrintion, the use and operation of ii oved engine starter will be readily understood.

intense ing that it is desired to start the engine, the operatorwill press the pedal 10 forward, which will cause the part ot'its arm to enter the bifurcated contact 15, whereby the circuit is immediately established through the motor 8, and before the pedal has been rnoved a sufiicient distance to bring the friction faces 52 and into contact. in other words, the pinion 50 and the 4-9 are well under wa before the pedal has been moved sufficiently to bring the ll ic'tion faces into engagement for stir the engine. For this reason the contact 15 is made relatively long order to al ow the part 23 considerable movement atter the closing of the motor circuit. From this it will he understood that the starting of the engine may be quiclrly and easily accomplished through the medium of a mechanism in which the starter 1 ion is always in mesh with gear which performs the start ing function, the said gear, howeve being normally loose with relation to the engine shaft as heretofore stated.

l clai A starting device for internal cornhustion engine comprising, in combination, anengine shatt a flywheel on said shaft, a tapering grippingsurface on one side of flywheel, a clutch member mounted concentric with said shaft having tapering surface for engaging with the tapering surface ot said flywheel, gear teeth on the external periphery of said clutch member, a motor mounted on the engine Home, a pinion rotated by said. motor in engagement with the gear on said clutch. ineinber, means for closing the circuit to said motor and for moving the clutch member into engagement with the gripping surface of said ilywheel, said means comprising a member piv omd to the ingine frame and engaging with said clutch member.

in testimony whereof athx my si MEEU ture.

ADJ 

